Monday, November 10, 2014

Recipe // Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Banana Bread

Happy Monday everyone! Fall is well underway and I've definitely been slacking on my baking this season! (Baby-related things have been taking priority...) However, I did make a recipe recently that Cameron and I both really enjoyed and so I'm excited to share it with you today!

I recently had a few bananas on hand that were on the verge of going bad
and so I knew I wanted to make banana bread...but since it's fall, I've
really been in the mood to make something involving pumpkin.
Hmmm...what's a girl to do? You guessed it, combine them! I came across this recipe for Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Banana Bread and thought it sounded perfect!

This seasonal variation of banana bread fills your house with the smells of fall, and it's super easy to make. The result is really moist and delicious, especially when you warm up a slice and top it with a little bit of softened butter - such a perfect treat on a chilly day!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two loaf pans. (I doubled the original recipe and made two loves, one larger and one smaller - however, you could definitely half it if you only wanted one loaf!) In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients and whisk to combine. In a large bowl, add pumpkin puree and bananas, mash together with a
fork or, my favorite, a potato masher. Add brown sugar, melted butter,
and yogurt, whisk to combine. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk. Fold dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. (You could also add nuts to this bread if you like!)

For cinnamon swirl: Stir together sugar and cinnamon. Add half of the batter to the pan and top with cinnamon swirl
mixture, and then top with the remaining batter. (This is how it was done in the original recipe and although it was good, next time I think I would just skip putting the cinnamon sugar in the middle of the loaf and put it on top instead! I felt like the swirl got a little lost in the bread and it would be much better on top of the loaf.)

Place pans in the oven. Bake for 60-90 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (I know that's a huge range on time, but it all depends on the pans you use. When I did it, my smaller pan cooked quickly but my larger loaf took a long time to get cooked all the way through!)

Last but not least, I'm announcing the winner of Minted giveaway today so if you entered, be sure to hop over to that post to see if you won!

This looks amazing! I'm not really a big fan of pumpkin by itself... but, if you add enough of "spice" that makes a pumpkin-spice what-have-you and I am in. I wouldn't have thought to do the cinnamon swirl, but that is exactly what makes me want to try it.